Highway-sign bracket



z u. 4 w m 6 n m 5, w m ,.0 l 7 3y 7, j n l W me mm NR. ons. 0 HNZ ud ANS 25m Wwd .wm mm 3% ooo'oooo Patented July 1s, 1930' UNITED STATES LOUIS W. ZAHONYI, F ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA HIGHWAY-SIGN BRACKET Application led J'une 28,

The present invention relates to a supporting bracket for highway signs and trail markers.

In the placing of trail markers and signs 5 such as Stop, Cross road, and similar markings along a highway, it is desirable to support the signs upon such posts or other suitable supports as may be found along the highway to thereby eliminate the cost of providing an individual support for each sign or marker. The posts which are thus found along the highway naturally vary great-ly in size from telephone poles to iron pipes, and it is desirable, therefore, to have brackets l5 available for each of the different sized posts which may beencountered, without carrying a large number of brackets of different sizes.

lit is also desirable to have the portion of the bracket to which the sign or marker is affixed held in outwardly spaced relation from the supporting post or similar member to which the bracket is attached so as to permit the insertion of a wrench behind the bracket to grip the nut of a bolt which is used to fasten the sign to the bracket without removing the bracket from the supporting post.

An object of the present invention is to make a bracket having the central portion thereof shaped to engage a supporting post and having a post encircling band removably connected thereto.

Another object is to make a bracket which may be readily adapted for mounting upon different sizes of post supports.

Another object is to make a bracket having a portion thereof bent outwardly to lie in spaced relation from a post upon which it is mounted, and a post encircling band removably conaiected to said bracket to hold it se-1 curely against a post.

ln order to attain these objects, there is provided, in accordance with one feature'of the invention, a. bracket formed' from a strip of steel or other suitable material having an oset central portion with a perforation therein to receive a sign supportin post therein. The ends of said bracket extenl7 laterally outward from the offset central portion of said bracket, their length being determined by the size of the post 'to which the bracket is 1926. SerialNo. 118,965.

being connected, lsaid end portions being perforated adjacent the ends thereof. A post encircling band is connected to each of said end portions by means of bolts or other suitable fastening means to hold the bracket securely against the post upon which it is mounted. Where the post is of smaller diameter than the width of the offset portion, a strap member having a curved central portion is fastened across the rear of the bracket and is provided with a removable strap member curved oppositely to said first strap member to grip the post upon which the bracket is mounted.

These and other features of the invention, not specificially mentioned, will be more fully brought out in the following description and the accompanying` drawings, wherein:

Figure l, is a View in front elevation of a trail marker mounted upon a post by means of a bracket made in accordance with the present invention.

Figure. 2, is a view in side elevation thereof.

Figure 3, is a view in top elevation of a trail marker mounted upon a post by means of a bracket made in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4L, is a top view of the device as employed in mounting signs upon posts having a smaller diameter than the breadth of the offsetportion of the bracket; and

Figure 5, is a view in elevation of a piece of perforated strap iron suitable for use with the bracket for mounting said bracket upon dierent sizes of posts.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a bracket A comprises a straight central portion l having a perforation centrally thereof to receive .a bolt 2 for fastening a sign B thereto. From the ends of the central portion, side portions 3 and fl extend at right angles thereto for a distance preferably somewhat greater than one-half the length of the center portion, although the length of said portions is not material except in that they must be long enough to provide clearancebetween the post and the center portion of the bracket as at 5 for manipulating the bolt 2. The bracket extends angularly outwardly for a short distance as at 6 and 7 where it is again bent so that the ends 8 and 9 lie in the same plane as the central portion 1. The size of the central portion 1, the side portions 3 and 4, and the angularly disposed portions 6 and 7, may be the same for use with a post of any diameter. In fact, the bracket may even be secured to a fiat surface such as a wall or board by substituting screws or nails, not shown, for bolts 10 and 11, which are used to fasten a rear portion to the bracket in a manner to be brought out in the following paragra h.

onnectedto either end of the bracket A and being bent to conform with the outline of the post to which the bracket is secured is a strap member 12 which may be of perforated strap iron, as shown in Figure 5, of a type commonly employed in hanging steam and similar pipes. This strap iron is easily bent by ordinary tools such as a wrench or hammer, and it is, therefore, possible to carry the perforated strap iron in long lengths which may be cut to the size required for each bracket at the time of mounting said bracket.

Various methods of employing thebrackets will be apparent to one versed in the art. Preferred forms are (1), to furnish the brackets A with the end portions S and 9 unpunchedand long enough for the largest post which it is intended to employ for mounting the brackets. The brackets may then be cut to the required size and punched or drilled to receive the bolts 10 and 11 at the place where the bracket is installed; (2) standard sizes of brackets may be employed proportionate to the size of post, as indicated in Figure 3.

For a post smaller than the diameter of the central portion of the bracket, an auxiliary device such as is shown in Figure 4 may be employed. This device comprises a portion of strap iron 13 secured to the bracket A by means of bolts 14 and 15 and having the central portion 16 thereof bent inwardly toward the bracket. A removable plate 17 is secured to the portion 13 by means of bolts 18 and 19. The central port-ion 20 of this plate is curved oppositely to the curved por- -tion 16 of the strap 13 to grip a supporting post therein. This device may be employed for mounting the bracket upon iron pipes of smaller diameter than the size of the openino between the side members 3 and 4.

ince the central portions of all of the brackets are the same size and shape it is apparent that brackets for any size of post may be made from a single set of dies, thereby greatly facilitating production and 1naking for extreme economy.

I claim:

1. A sign bracket adapted to engage supports of varying diameters comprising a substantially U-shaped body formed of a continuous strip of metal having a central portion adapted to support a sign, side portions extending outwardly from said central portion at substantially right-angles thereto, substantially straight intermediate support engaging portions diverging outwardly from said side portions adapted to hold the sign engaging portion spaced 'from said support, end portions extending outwardly lfrom the intermediate portions and disposed to lie in a plane substantially arallel. with the cent-ral portion of the brac 'et, and means formed to engage about the support and engaging said end portions to secure the bracket upon the support, said support engaging portions having a substantially V-relation and being of a length to tangentially engage supports of varying diameters.

2. In combination with a supporting post, a sign supporting bracket adapted to engage such post, comprising two members, said opposite sides of a supporting post, one of said members being formed with a central, outwardly exten-ding portion terminating in a central sign supporting portion standing in materially spaced relationship to the center of the post supporting said bracket to permit access between said sign supporting portion and the center of the supporting post, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

LOUIS IV. ZAHO'NYI.

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